Marek Reavis appointed Humboldt County interim public defender

By Will Houston, Eureka Times-Standard

POSTED: 03/13/18, 1:38 PM PDT | UPDATED: 32 SECS AGO 0 COMMENTS

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors appointed Conflict Counsel
Marek Reavis as interim public defender, making him the third person
to hold the public defender position in the past 13 months.

According to county Counsel Jeff Blanck, Reavis has accepted.

Reavis will replace the current interim Public Defender Kaleb Cockrum
who was appointed to a Humboldt County Superior Court judgeship by
Gov. Jerry Brown at the end of February.

Cockrum, 43, was appointed as interim Public Defender in December
after his predecessor David Marcus resigned in November following
nine months of controversy regarding Marcus' qualifications for the position.

Brown has repeatedly tapped the Public Defender's Office for
judgeships in the past year after several local judges retired.

Today is Cockrum's last day as interim public defender. He is set to
be sworn in at the superior courthouse at 3:30 p.m. on Friday and
will replace Judge Marilyn Miles who retired last year.

"It is an honor and I am humbled by the appointment," Cockrum said in
a statement today. "I look forward to serving the people of Humboldt
County. I have great respect for the judicial office. Decisions from
the bench have real consequences in peoples' lives, therefore I will
perform my duties with fairness, compassion, and integrity."

Prior to appointing Cockrum, Brown appointed Deputy Public Defender
Kelly Neel to replace Judge Timothy Cissna who retired in January.

County Conflict Counsel Greg Elvine-Kreis was appointed to a long
vacant judgeship in May 2017, replacing Judge W. Bruce Watson who
retired in January 2016.

Source link:
http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20180313/marek-reavis-appointed-humboldt-county-interim-public-defender